Long-term use of fallow in dryland wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) systems can increase erosion and decrease soil fertility. One possible solution is to grow a green manure crop during the fallow period. To evaluate the short-term effects of substituting a winter legume green manure for fallow in a 2-vr wheat rotation, a series of experiments were conducted in the Sacramento Valley of California f...

This paper develops a soil conservation model that is relevant to smallholder farmers who applylittle or no fertilizer. Empirical results drawn from northern Tanzania imply that, ignoringfertility mining problem in model specification leads to overestimation of profits for farms thatapply little or no fertilizer. The model also shows that, the impact of output price on soilc...

An hypothesis, that the invasion of hawkweeds (Hierucium species) into South Island high country was triggered by fertiliser application from about 1950, is examined. Reference is made to the historical occurrence of hawkweeds in New Zealand, volumes and patterns of fertiliser application to high country, and experimental and observational information about the response of hawkweeds to soil fer...

Cover crops are essential in agricultural management and especially in organic farming for protecting the soil from erosion, competing with weeds, preventing evaporative losses and improving soil quality and fertility. The choice of cover crop species is crucial in achieving the highest level of weed suppression and soil fertility enhancement. Cover crop systems with rye or mixtures of legumes ...

Cultural methods such as crop fertilization can affect susceptibility of plants to insect pests by altering plant tissue nutrient levels. Research shows that the ability of a crop plant to resist or tolerate insect pests and diseases is tied to optimal physical, chemical and mainly biological properties of soils. Soils with high organic matter and active soil biology generally exhibit good soil...

this research was conducted in a part of the dry farming lands of the southern guilan province, aimed at examining the impact of tillage erosion on the soil displacement and consequently its productivity. in order to achieve the research aims, 18 sampling points were spotted in some different locations of the landscape in seven adjacent fields, based on the adjacency to the field ridges (border...

15/35 Abstract Crop production on smallholder agricultural land must increase considerably if the growing world population is to be fed. To achieve this, affordable soil testing methods, fertilizer recommendations and the accessibility of optimal fertilizers containing the required nutrients are required. The SoilCares mobile laboratory offers affordable soil testing using infrared spectroscopy...

Soils vary widely in mineral nutrient availability and physical characteristics, but the influence of this variability on plant responses to elevated CO2 remains poorly understood. As a first approximation of the effect of global soil variability on plant growth response to CO2, we evaluated the effect of CO2 on tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) grown in soils representing 10 of the 12 global s...

Few studies describe root distributions at the species level in diverse forests, although belowground species interactions and traits are often assumed to affect fine-root biomass (FRB). We used molecular barcoding to study how FRB of trees relates to soil characteristics, species identity, root diversity, and root traits, and how these relationships are affected by proximity to ecotones in a t...

Five treatments were compared using two half-highbush blueberry cultivars (cv Chippewa and Polaris) transplanted and grown for their first three growing seasons at a site in Boutiliers Point, N.S., a Gibraltar brown sandy loam (Ferro-Humic Podzol). The five treatments were as follows: Alfalfa meal + rock P + wood ash; NPK fertilizer; Municipal Solid Waste (MSWC) compost; Ruminant compost; food ...